24. Alpha/Jekyll

**Past **

The first time I met Alpha Caldwell face to face was nearly two years ago. Right before Kane came back from his uncle's house that summer.
Alpha was staying over the Wilder's place for a couple of days and I was visiting with my mom for pizza night. The atmosphere was cozy and happy and people were either in the living room or in the kitchen, digging into their own slice of cheesy goodness. Captain America Civil War was on and those who weren't watching it were in the kitchen, arguing over whether or not the haunted house near the woods was actually a vampire den. May Wilder was at the center of the discussion and was in the middle explaining how conveniently shady the thick trees were when she suddenly cried out in alarm. She'd completely forgotten about her houseguest- who'd been nowhere in sight for several hours.
"I'm certain he's in the gardens," May said to me, shooting one of the vampire skeptical people-who was currently dispelling May's previous theory- a nasty look. "Could you do me a favor and call him in for pizza?"
I didn't want to. And not just because of my usual shyness. Alpha was like an idol to me, a quiet wolf who rarely spoke (like his cousin) but had an unlimited supply of smiles to offer (unlike his cousin). But what if my perfect image of him fell apart the moment I spoke to him? What if he turned out to be a jerk? Or worse, even more arrogant than Kane? The spell would be broken and my prince would be a hoax. It was childish, but I just didn't want to talk to him. I also couldn't say no to May, not with all the other pack members watching.
I nodded. "Sure."
She beamed, gave me a thumbs up. "Thanks, love." Then she swirled around and leaned over the kitchen counter, narrowing her eyes at the woman who'd been discrediting her. "Now listen up you brain damaged turnip, if you're so certain there's no vampires in that haunted house then how about you take a stroll there? Hmm? Prove me wrong?"
The other woman-Laurie Davids- pinched her face in horror. May wasn't using her position as the alpha female over her, I guess it was the turnip part that got to her.
"If you're so sure they're there, then how about you go?" She shot back stiffly.
May smirked. "You guys smell that? Cause I do. Smells like a coward."
The room erupted in oohs and indignant shouts and I decided if I didn't get out now, I probably wouldn't anytime soon.
Smiling, I slipped out. Pizza nights were the only gatherings I tried to avoid but couldn't stay away from. Once the pizza was here and everyone was settled, someone would bring up a controversial topic or juicy gossip and they'd spring on it, dissecting it like surgeons- surgeons that took sides and threw an occasional insult over the surgery table. There was even a food fight once, I can't remember what that argument was about, but I do remember it only ended when Theo Wilder walked in. Everyone froze mid-throw, their expressions heavy with surprise and guilt. I'd been in my usual solitary corner, amused and eating an ice-cream cone someone had been as kind as to throw my way. Theo had not been amused. We'd spent the rest of the night rigorously scrubbing away at every surface in the kitchen.
Pizza nights were definitely my favorite nights, there was always something new to learn and I admit it was fun to watch May's usual gentle personality do a three-sixty.
I could still hear the battle cries drifting down the hall as I slid open the screen doors and stepped into the backyard. The night air kissed my cheeks and I breathed in deep, smiling up at the silver moon. It was a lovely night, perfect for star viewing.
But not here, I thought with a shiver.
Cute curved street lamps provided an amber glow along the pebbled path that led into the garden. I started walking, my limbs moving briskly now, eyes darting after shadows.
May's garden was monstrous. The path divided the garden into four sections- and that was about as organized as it got. The plants and trees were stuffed together in these sections, without any care at all. The moment you stepped off the path you'd be stepping on some sort of plant. It was absolute chaos, I don't know how May took care of the place. Yet there was definitely a certain charm to the way they grew freely.
For example, there were the violet magnolias that stood prettily in line, patient and elegant even with several rose bushes cutting across snobbishly. Or the sunflowers that formed a swaying yellow fence around a lime tree, the vines that zigzagged beneath tulips, curling around the trunk of a tree like a ring. The air was earthly here, fresh and perfumed with unrestrained life. It was beautiful, regardless of the fact that it hadn't been tamed to look good.
I loved the plants, what kept me away were their neighbors. Among the lush greenery and flowers were these stone statues that always seemed invisible until you got lost in thought, glanced up- and suddenly there they were. And in those short but seemingly long and uncomfortable seconds when it caught you off guard, when it suddenly felt like it was just you and that ugly thing for miles, it seemed to mouth hey there, in a voice as creepy as the statue itself.
One of them had nearly stopped my heart cold from terror the last time I'd been here alone. It'd been sitting with its knees up, arms draped over them. The gray stone was old and moss covered but those things weren't what scared me, it was its eyes, or lack thereof. Black holes had stared at me, almost as if they were gouged out and the inky streaks down its cheeks were blood from the wounds. Its mouth was tilted in a creepy smile. I ran away, completely unashamed, my heart racing as if to outrun my legs.
Just as it was doing now.
"Holy shit," I breathed out, staring wide eyed at the statue- that'd been among the rose bushes at the south side of the garden- but was now sitting in the pathway, looking somehow larger. It was in the shadows, just outside the light but there was no mistaking that posture...
It turned its head in my direction.
I didn't have the breath to scream, my knees quivered, attempted to stay strong, and collapsed. The statue rose to its feet and I held up a hand, mouth opening to scream for certain this time, breath or not.
"Are you alright?"
The statue stepped into the light- except it wasn't the statue.
Alpha Caldwell walked over to me, looking worried as he offered his hand. I stared blankly at it for a moment, then grabbed it, laughing shakily as he helped me to my feet.
"I'm sorry," I gasped, running a hand over my face. "I thought you were this creepy statue, the one that doesn't-"
"The one that doesn't have eyes," he grinned.
I nodded. "I was thinking about it and then I saw you. I freaked out."
"I know the feeling, it got me once too." He paused, smiled again. "I'm certain my aunt put those statues there solely for that purpose. How much are you willing to bet she has cameras on them?"
I frowned. "That doesn't sound like something she'd do."
He shrugged, rubbed the back of his neck. "People often aren't what they appear to be."
I leaned forward, brave in the aftershocks of fear. "And what about you? Were you sitting there in the dark like that on purpose?"
His eyes widened. "No. I was working in the garden, got tired after the sun set and decided to rest a bit. I wanted to sit somewhere out in the open in case May came looking for me."
I wrapped my arms around myself, embarrassed at my outburst. "I know. I didn't really mean it. Sorry."
Alpha shook his head, the long locks brushing his cheeks as he did so. "I scared you. I'm supposed to be the one apologizing," he said. "Wait here."
I watched curiously as he jogged back to where he'd been sitting, bent down and plucked at something. He jogged back to me- or at least tried to. He tripped halfway back and fell right on his face. I stared at him, unbelieving. Werewolves were generally not clumsy creatures, but there he was, his face in the dirt.
He lifted his head, blinking, his hand held up. In it was a daisy. He opened his mouth, closed it. His cheeks were flaming red.
I shuffled my feet awkwardly. "Well... I hope none of May's cameras recorded that."
It wasn't funny but he laughed anyway, and because he was laughing, I did too. I helped him up. He gave me the daisy and we went back inside, still laughing.

** Present**

This couldn't be real.
I looked around, certain I was in a dream. But I was aware- too aware- of my surroundings. The sparkling crystals of the chandeliers overhead, their reflection glittering rocks on the polished marble floors. The dead silence where music had been only minutes ago, the smell of food and drinks, perfume, the stink of blood and pain from Helen. The way her usually spotless golden hair was now streaked with dirt and grime, her straight back strangely fragile. The yards of empty space between the pack and me, the dazzling ruby dress of a woman facing me, her brown hair piled high on her head. How she was stone still, a diligent soldier standing at attention, her eyes wide and afraid.
The rest of the pack were in similar positions, puppets lined up and awaiting further instructions.
From somewhere further in the room, a baby began wailing.
"Shut up."
The wailing died immediately.
Then there was the man who was Alpha Caldwell...but not Alpha Caldwell. Same face. Same Disney prince look, and yet- his eyes had changed. They weren't the warm sapphire I remembered, nor Kane's Artic blue. They burned. His smile was what was cold.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"Tonight?" He pursed his lips. "Tonight, I'm karma."
He walked over to Helen, nudged her with a foot, his expression twisting to one of pure delight. "The witch is caught," he swept a hand towards the rest of the room, "the jury adjoined- but there's one more person missing. Where is the witch's accomplice?"
His eager gaze swept across the crowd, lips pulled from his teeth in a crazed grin. "Step forward, would you, Kane?"
There was shuffling as the crowd parted and that's when I saw it. It was small, but there, black tendrils of smoke clinging to their bodies. The puppet master's strings? Why else would the pack listen to his orders? But how was he doing it? It was magic but not pack magic, that much I was certain of. The more important question was, what did he want?
Kane stalked through the parted space, managing to look forbidding despite the fact that he wasn't moving of his own volition. I could see some of it on him too, the darkness drifting beneath his feet, at his neck. His expression remained calm but that only fed my growing fear. An alpha would never allow another to control him, he should be growling and roaring the roof down- the fact that he wasn't meant he knew it was futile.
I swallowed hard.
Kane didn't spare his cousin a glance. His steady gaze found mine first, then landed on Helen. She was sprawled out on the floor at his feet, in the same cloths she'd had on when the three of them had visited the restaurant. What felt like ages ago.
"Cousin," Alpha crooned, voice oozing with a cruelty that had me flinching.
So he wasn't a Disney Prince but a Hans, I thought.
Kane's attention hadn't left Helen. "Helen," he said. It wasn't him calling her, it sounded more like a question than a word.
She groaned. It was faint, but there.
He nodded once. Shifted so he stood between her and Alpha. It was the normal thing to do, I told myself. She was injured and his responsibility, she needed the protection. But when Alpha stepped backwards a few steps, I wished he'd came over to me. Now there were two sides. Kane, Helen and the pack on one side, the two of us on the other one.
"You've healed nicely since the last time we met," Alpha commented.
Again, Kane paid him no attention. His eyes were searching my face, studying it like it was the first time he'd ever seen it. "Ember," he said. "Come here."
Alpha snorted.
Kane raised a hand. "Ember."
I wanted to. Wanted to let him pull me behind him, to stand back and let him make the nightmare end, but I didn't move. Felt it was pointless to. There was something wrong with Alpha and Kane knew, but he wasn't doing anything about it. Couldn't do anything about it.
And Alpha- the kind werewolf I thought I knew, the one I actually liked- was smiling like a fiend.
Jekyll, I realized. He's Jekyll.
Alpha ran a hand through his long hair. "I'm sorry- okay not really sorry, you already know that anyway, but I have to break this to you. Emy isn't within your reach. We have a contract-" Oh no, not that. "-and she's agreed to come with me," he turned to me with that wild look. "She's picked me over you."
Kane lowered his hand and for the first time, he looked at Alpha. It was a brief, unfocused look. Then it was turned on me and although I knew I hadn't done anything, the guilt was still immense. Hadn't I planned on doing it? Surely the intent was nearly the same as the actual action. He'd hate me for sure now, if he hadn't already.
But there was no accusation on his face. No shock. He only stared at me expectantly. Say it.
"I didn't do it," I said quietly.
Alpha's grin dropped.
I didn't wait to see what he'd do next. I could've ran over to Kane, or even dashed past Alpha and out this crazy dream, but my pack- my mom who was somewhere in that crowd- was at the mercy of this stranger. This psychopath who was using magic I've never seen before.
I took out the knife Aster had given me, opened my mouth- but Kane was the one who beat me to it.
"Skittles."